Poltergeist of Calvados Castle
Ghostly Paranormal Phenomena Finally Drove Owners Out of Their Home
Sep 6, 2007
Calvados, owned by the B family, was built on the foundations an earlier structure that fell into ruins. In 1867, Monsieur and Madame de X inherited this Norman edifice. As soon as they moved in, there were inexplicable sounds that finally lessened, but returned with greater force. M de X began to keep a journal of the phenomena on October 12, 1975 under these initials, which was the usual practice at the time. The experients were the de X’s, their son, the Abbé Y who was the boy’s tutor and four servants. At first, de X thought humans who wanted the castle were trying to scare them away so they could buy the building at far less than it was worth caused the phenomena. He bought two guard dogs. They reacted to something not documented once by barking at a thicket, then whining and slinking away. A search of the brush revealed nothing.
Calvados Castle's Paranormal Happenings
The first eerie occurrence was when all who lived in the castle heard something race up the stairs, sounding like it walked on stumps, not feet. There was also loud banging on the steps and a door to one of the rooms.
Other sounds included cries of despair, a woman sobbing, a body falling down the stairs, galloping and words recognizable as “the damned” and “demons.”
When Y left his room, he always locked the door. Usually, when he returned, the furniture was moved, his property, tossed about and windows were opened. One night, when the Abbé was reading water cascaded down the chimney, extinguishing the fire. This was in the middle of a drought and the weather was clear and sunny.
The poltergeist played the closed and locked organ, turned keys in locks while people watched and struck Mme de X on the face. Finally, de X decided to have the home exorcised.
Calvados - Exorcisms and Exodus
The Reverend Fr. H L investigated and performed a religious rite. All was peaceful until the clergyman left. The phenomena began to happen again, but with greater intensity.
There were Novena Masses and more exorcisms performed at Lourdes. There were several days of peace, then the disturbances renewed with more vigor. The Church believed the occurrences were demonic. It was also theorized that the spirit of a previous owner, a female who died unrepentant, was responsible for the paranormal activity.
The clichéd breaking point happened in September 1876. de X heard loud noises at night. When he opened the door to the drawing room, he saw that all of the furniture had been moved as if a meeting had been held there. He played his harmonium and when he was finished, the music echoed in the opposite corner of the room for a long time.
The de X’s sold the castle and moved out that month. It is not recorded whether or not the new owners experienced the poltergeist activity.
Calvados - End Notes
The phenomena experienced by those in Calvados Castle fall under the classification of poltergeist activity which is created by PK, psychokinesis, the power of the mind to affect matter. According to research and theory, poltergeists can have a human or an entity as an agent. For further information about this type of parapsychological goings-on, please refer to Poltergeists! The Reality, Not the Movie .
Source:
The Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits, Rosemary Ellen Guiley, (Facts on File, Inc., 1992)
